Such is the state of the media in Iraq that the various groups don't even have to kill each other to secure most excellent press coverage. According to an AFP story dated yesterday and republished in Raw Story,
This week several newspapers and agencies reported that Iraqi police had found 20 beheaded corpses in Salman Pak, just south of Baghdad.No doubt there is a brutal war going on in Baghdad, but it appears some of the participants have discovered that actually killing people is harder than convincing the press that they have.
AFP did not carry the report after its sources were unable to confirm the rumour.
"It now appears that the story was completely false and fabricated by unknown sources," a statement from the US military said.
Couldn't somebody, besides Agence France-Presse, have asked to see a beheaded corpse or 20 before writing the story?
